Stretch
Stretching properly can increase and improve motion in your joints, increase blood flow, and decrease feelings of stiffness. Other potential benefits of stretching can include reducing delayed onset of muscle soreness, increasing athletic performance and reducing the risk of tendon or muscle tears.
Stretching improves flexibility allowing for restoration of muscle length and increases in range of motion.
Stretching can help to alleviate joint and muscle pain as well as improve strength, power, performance and overall function by allowing the body to maximally activate muscles from their optimal length.
Being able to customize an exercise or treatment to fit each patient’s needs is very important, it eliminates certain injuries and focuses on the patient's weakness while optimizing their strength.
Sports
Sports - whether a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, stretching is a vital component to help keep you in top shape. Sports stretching is a vital part of the entire performance program. Each sport can have its own unique stretching program, ie. football, baseball, hockey…and within this program each athlete may have their own personalized program based on their physical needs and capabilities. As someone who has worked extensively in the sports medicine field of physical therapy, Dr. McDaniel has developed personalized stretching programs for many professional athletes.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation - stretching for rehab patients/clients is a vital part of the recovery process for any type of injury. With an injury, the person will, at some point in time, have to stop moving that body part either to facilitate healing or it just may be too painful or restricted to move. This will cause a reduced blood flow to that area resulting in stiffness to that area, as well as lack of nutrients to the tissues also. One of the first steps in the rehab process is simple, gentle movements. A specific protocol designed by the PT is crucial at this point. And as the patient is further progressing from their injury, and additional movements are added to the therapy, a rehabilitative stretching program is designed specifically for that person and their injury recovery. This is where a PT with extensive experience gives the patient that extra edge that’s needed in the recovery process. Dr. McDaniel has many years of experience working in pre and post operative surgical departments along with extensive experience in the rehabilitation field.
Maintenance
Maintenance - For those who are ‘in touch” with their body or want to be, a stretching maintenance program may just be what you need. Many health professionals strongly believe that if one only does one type of exercise, a stretching program is the most important since proper movement and flexibility is the key to keeping the body moving well! The learning process of knowing how your body moves begins with simple movements and utilizing the correct muscles. A basic stretching program can initiate this learning process and can advance into a more detailed and comprehensive program. As the stretching sessions evolve, the stretching can become more specific and isolate specific muscles that can help maintain the body and prevent postural imbalances and injuries. Since the nerves in the body “direct” the muscles in their actions, Dr. McDaniel, with her experience in the field of neurological disorders, can work in aiding the patient/client in making that connection between nerve and muscle and develop specific stretching programs to benefit each patient/client and take them to a new level of function and mobility.
Strengthen
Strengthen - Did you realize that you have an internal set of weights so you can actually exercise anywhere! Yes, you can use your own body weight to strengthen your body. With stretching for strengthening, you can actually place your body in positions that use your body weight as the form of resistance. This form of stretching incorporates the best of both worlds so you get a deep stretch along with a resistance force that helps build muscle strength and tone. Dr. McDaniel uses her diverse and extensive background in the sports medicine field of PT to create this program designed specifically for each client and their individual needs and goals. This type of stretching program helps increase flexibility and range of motion along with increasing muscle tone and strength.
Dr. McDaniel speaks about the Stretching & Flexibility program
Cristina McDaniel, DPT, PhD
Education:Under Graduate BS bio from NYU Graduate School - Physical Therapy specializes in Hydro Therapy - NYU; Masters in Neurological Disorders Rehabilitation - Yale University; DPT & PhD in Neuro Psych Rehab - Cornell Presbyterian
Work Experience: NYU Joint Disease Hospital - PT staff; American Neurological Disorders Study and Rehabilitation - Executive Assistant to the CEO & PT; HSS Spine Surgery Rehabilitation - PT supervisor; Yale Rehab, Greenwich, Ct. - PT staff
Sports/Athletic affiliation: Rusk Rehabilitation - NY Mets Yale Rehab - WWE HSS Hospital - NJ Devils